Control for double doors



1951 "r. H. SHEEHAN, JR

CONTROL FOR DOUBLE DOORS Filed June. 5, 1946 I I N V EN TOR. Thomas/7f .5/766/70/7 J A True/vars Patented NovL 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,576,703 CONTROL FOR DOUB LE DOORS Thomas H. Sheehan, In, Detroit, Mich.

Application June 5, 1946, Serial No. 674,568

This invention relates to a control for double doors and more particularly to a control for double doors which synchronizes the opening 4 Claims. (01. 26862) and closing of the doors and which holds the doors in either fully opened or fully closed position. My invention is particularly useful in connection with double garage doors which swing on vertical axes.

It is an object of this invention to produce a simple and efficient mechanism which causes two swinging doors to operate as one and which automatically holds the doors in either open or closed position.

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section showing my mechanism applied to double garage doors.

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I have shown doors I and 2, which are hinged to door posts 3 and 4 by hinges 5 and 6, so that they swing about a vertical axis. An L-shaped link 'I is pivoted as at 8 to hinge bracket 9 which is secured by screws or otherwise aflixed to the inside face of door 2.

Link I has a long leg I and a short leg I I. Link I lies generally in a plane perpendicular to the plane of doors I and 2 and leg Ill from its point of pivoting 8 extends inwardly from the inner faces of doors I and 2 when closed and leg II extends generally from leg III in a direction toward the inner face of the door. The end of link 1 is pivoted as at I2 to bracket I3 which is secured by screws or otherwise aflixed to the inside face of door I.

A tension spring I4 has one end connected to bracket I3 at point I and the other end connected to link I at point I6. When doors I and 2 are closed it will be seen that points l5 and I6 are to the right of pivot I2 and when the doors are open, as shown in the dotted lines, points I5 and I6 are to the left of pivot I2. In other words, tension spring I4 is an over-center type of spring which, when the doors are closed, acts between link I and bracket I3 to apply a force thereto which tends to hold doors I and 2 closed and when the doors are open the force of spring I4 applied at the same points tends to hold doors I and 2 open.

Further, it will be seen that movement of either door I or 2 either in opening or closing direction will, through link I and bracket I 3, simultaneously transmit a like opening or closing motion to the other door. In other words, the opening and closing of doors I and 2 are synchronized.

It will be noted that the included angle A between leg I I and bracket I3 is less than when the doors are closed and when the doors are open angle A is greater than 180. To state this same set of facts differently: the angle A made by leg II and bracket I3 opposite spring I4 is less than 180 when the doors are closed and the angle B between leg II and bracket I3 opposite spring I4 when the doors are open is also less than 180 and substantially the same as angle A, but the angles A and B are positioned on opposite sides of pivot I2.

It will be noted that the efiective length of link I is the distance between pivot I2 and pivot 6 and that the effective length of link 1 plus the length of arm I3 should preferably be at least equal to, or greater than, the width of the door opening between hinges 5 and 6 so that the doors can swing fully open to clear the door opening.

I claim:

1. In combination a pair of doors pivoted on opposite parallel supports and arranged to swing in unison in opposite directions so as to be positioned in substantially the same plane when closed, an arm fixed to the inside face of one door and projecting in a direction inwardly from the inside face thereof when the door is in the closed position, a link pivoted at one end to the inside face of the other door and at the other end to said arm at a point spaced inwardly from the inside face of said doors when closed, said link having an integral portion thereof oiTset from the pivot between said link and arm in a direction inwardly of and away from the inner face of the doors when closed, and resilient means acting between the offset portion of said link and the door to which the rigid arm is connected on one side of the pivot between said arm and link when the doors are closed whereby the resilient means tends to hold said doors closed, said resilient means in the opening of said doors passing to the opposite side of said pivot whereby the force exerted by said resilient means between the link and the door to which the arm is secured tends to hold said doors open.

2. In combination with a pair of doors pivoted on opposite parallel supports and arranged to swing in unison in opposite directions so as to be positioned in substantially the same plane when closed, an arm fixed to the inside face of one of said doors and extending in a direction inwardly from the inside face thereof when the door is in the closed position, a link having one end pivoted to the inside face of the other of said doors and the other end pivoted to the end of said arm, the said link being substantially in the shape of an L lying substantially in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the doors with the corner of the L positioned so that the pivot between said arm and link lies between the corner of the L link and the said door, and a spring connected to the door at one end and to the ,corner of the L link at the other, said spring lying at one side of the pivot between the arm and the link when the doors are in closed position and being arranged to pass to the opposite side of said last named pivot in opening the doors.

3. In combination a pair of doors pivoted on opposite parallel supports and arranged to swing in unison in opposite directions so as to be positioned in substantially the same plane when closed, a rigid support fixed to the inside face or one of the doors and projecting in a direction inwardly of the inside face thereof when the door is in the closed position, a rigid link piveta ly c n ected to the other of sa d doors and the insid thereof. a pivotal. c nnectien b tween said rigid link and the rigid support at a point spa ed wa d y o the inner fa s 15 the doors when l sed, said rigid l nk hav an in,- t gr l port on. offset o h piv tal onnection between the link and the door in a direction in, wardly Of and away from the inner face of the door, and resilient means connecting said offset portion of the link and the door carrying the fixed support on oppositesides of said pivotal c ecti the. ai pi o al connection betwe the support and link being positioned relative to the plane of the door between the connection between the said resilient means and the ofiset portion of the link and the connection between the resilient means and the door.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein the rigid support is positioned adjacent the axis of swinging of the door which carries the support and the resilient means passes from one side of the said pivotal connection between the link and the support to the other when the doors are swung from closed to open position whereby swinging movement of the one door causesv simultaneous swinging of the other door and the resilient means acts to maintain the doors open and closed when swung to either of s id P sitions- THOMAS H. SHEEI-IAN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The o l win references are of record in the file of this p e UNITED STATES PATENTS 

